Hebei has beaten the record for loans received from foreign governments in 2011. The province received over $230 million, around 44 percent more than the total amount for the past five years.

The money will support 13 projects, including affordable housing construction and reducing energy consumption in buildings. Among the projects, five received $20 million loans each.

A foreign government loan, also called a bilateral loan, is a preferential policy between governments for development aids. The money is mainly used in fields of infrastructure building, social development, ecological protection as well as energy-saving and emissions reduction.

China started using the preferential policy in 1979, and once established bilateral loans with up to 20 countries and government institutions.